The Next 35

A post by Patti Knapp, Business & Development Director
June 1, 2018

Hello Friends,

I write today grateful for the progress our Washington Revels community has made and humbled by the road that lies ahead of us. Since I arrived in August of 2016, the warmth of your welcome and your willingness to lend your talents to new fundraising endeavors has overwhelmed me. With your help we have strengthened Revels’ financial foundation and nurtured the vibrant circle of volunteers, donors, performers, teachers, and learners that make my work worth pursuing.

Though recent developments at the national level have made the footing of many artistic organizations uncertain, your willingness to pull together gives us the resilience to share Revels’ enduring values with our DC, Maryland, and Virginia neighbors and to transmit our joyful way of being to our youngest Revelers — the next generation who will carry this legacy forward.

However, Revels is not immune to the challenges that confront performing arts endeavors today; trends in how we consume information and how and where we invest our time shift at the speed of a mouse-click. And so, over the course of this year we have responded in many ways: we’ve harnessed the power of social media to reinvent our program ad sponsorships; our new database has streamlined everything from buying Christmas Revels tickets, to making donations, to simply sharing the latest Revels news; our gift-processing system is more secure than ever, and we’ll soon launch a planned giving campaign. I thank you for your enthusiasm for these efforts as, in this 35th Anniversary year, we lay the groundwork for our 70th!

For all that is new, our underlying principles have not changed: Revels will always be for anyone who wants to find common ground through old and new traditions that reach across time and cultures. Our special blend of professionals and non-professionals, of children and adults, and of cultural traditions continues to transform the lives of those it touches. The world needs Revels — it is our time!

Many thanks to our board members, volunteers, and community partners for their service, generosity, and belief in Revels’ mission. And special thanks to our donors for your critical contributions. You are the inspiration and driving force behind so much of what we accomplish, and we are deeply grateful for your support.

As of June 2018, we’re halfway through our 35th Anniversary year. It excites me to imagine the strides that we will take in the months, years, and decades ahead! I am proud to be walking hand-in-hand with you as we stand together in celebration of this special year, and of our entire Washington Revels community.